BX2360 And A 72" Rear Finish Mower

[Panik]

Good Morning!

A little background..... we own 11 acres, roughly 3.5 of which are mowable yard. For the last several years I have been able to handle the mowing wonderfully with the 60" MMM on our BX 2360. My difficulty is that I also assist my aging neighbor with maintaining the common areas of our little neighborhood, as well as mowing the parcel across the street (absentee owner). Last I checked this added up to an additional 6 acres. Like my yard, most of this is open and covered in relatively light grass.

I am looking into the idea of purchasing a PTO driven 72" rear finish mower to help in cutting down on the time spent mowing all of this property. I have absolutely no plans to get rid of the MMM as there are some areas where having it would be beneficial. The thought being that I could hit the big open areas first with the rear finish, detach it a the shop and clean up with the MMM.

Does anyone have any first hand experience using a 72" rear finish with a BX or similarly powered sub-compact? While being able to lift the mower would be an obvious benefit, given the open terrain using it as PTO powered pull behind would not be the worst thing in the world. I have done a bit of reading on the subject on 'da interwebs but was hoping to hear from some folks who have actually tried to make a go of it with a small tractor.

 

[sweettractors]

Good Morning!

A little background..... we own 11 acres, roughly 3.5 of which are mowable yard. For the last several years I have been able to handle the mowing wonderfully with the 60" MMM on our BX 2360. My difficulty is that I also assist my aging neighbor with maintaining the common areas of our little neighborhood, as well as mowing the parcel across the street (absentee owner). Last I checked this added up to an additional 6 acres. Like my yard, most of this is open and covered in relatively light grass.

I am looking into the idea of purchasing a PTO driven 72" rear finish mower to help in cutting down on the time spent mowing all of this property. I have absolutely no plans to get rid of the MMM as there are some areas where having it would be beneficial. The thought being that I could hit the big open areas first with the rear finish, detach it a the shop and clean up with the MMM.

Does anyone have any first hand experience using a 72" rear finish with a BX or similarly powered sub-compact? While being able to lift the mower would be an obvious benefit, given the open terrain using it as PTO powered pull behind would not be the worst thing in the world. I have done a bit of reading on the subject on 'da interwebs but was hoping to hear from some folks who have actually tried to make a go of it with a small tractor.

How long and how much trouble is it to take off and reinstall the 60 inch mmm? Ken Sweet

 

[Panik]

Good question Ken. Honestly, it's more of a pain than I would want with everything going on my life. I try to do my best only to install/uninstall the mid-mount when it's really required. It's not so much that it's physically difficult, just that it's more time consumptive than I would wish given that it is not a drive over deck.

My thought had been to leave the MMM attached and in the up and locked position while using the rear finish. The idea being that I could mow the wide open stuff with the 3pt and then drop it at the shop and use the MMM to clean up......The other positive for me is that having both a rear finish as well as MMM is that I can use the MMM for edging and use the rear finish to back under a couple problem spots around a few evergreens that would otherwise require weed eating.

If you have any thoughts pro or con I would certainly appreciate your input. I know that on one hand I am reaching for the upper limits of what a 23hp tractor can spin up, but on the other hand we're not talking heavy cover. Moreover, if stuff does get overgrown or I feel like its bogging I can always drop the rear finish and switch to the MMM if necessary.

 

[sweettractors]

I think you are on the right track. If the grass does not get overgrown between mowings, you will do fine. Ken Sweet

 

[Panik]

Thank you Ken, I definitely value your opinion! I do more reading than posting on this forum and I've learned a fair bit from reading discussions that you have weighed in on.

 

[RjCorazza]

I agree powering the mower will not be a problem. I ran a 6' mower behind my old B8200 (18hp) for years, but had to add 3 suitcase weights up front to keep the front end down.
I am not sure you will get done any faster with an extra foot on a rear mount compared to the 60" mmm.

 

[radioman]

maybe you could use offset flail mower at same time with mmm?

 

[JDL538]

maybe you could use offset flail mower at same time with mmm?

I use a 72 in. finish mower on a 30 hp Kioti and a 60 in. zero turn for the closer stuff..I'm getting older 70 and the zero is to bouncy..I like the finish mower much more than the zero..:

 

[MadMax31]

Easiest answer is get a Zero turn. I personally don't want more than one machine. I also hate MMM. At only 36, I have two blown discs, and two bum hips, one of which will be fake in 4 years.

I sold my B7610 and giving serious thought to a BX25D or the new BX23S. Neither of which will have a MMM... A 60" was fine on my old machine, but a 72" would be a welcomed idea if the BX can handle it?

 

[JDL538]

Easiest answer is get a Zero turn. I personally don't want more than one machine. I also hate MMM. At only 36, I have two blown discs, and two bum hips, one of which will be fake in 4 years.

I sold my B7610 and giving serious thought to a BX25D or the new BX23S. Neither of which will have a MMM... A 60" was fine on my old machine, but a 72" would be a welcomed idea if the BX can handle it?

A finish mower does the same as a zero turn, really nice cut and just as fast, maybe faster the only question is if it will pull the 72 in. You can buy a new finish mower for 2k a good zero will cost 7 k or more...